Much of the discussion surrounding Sunday’s all-female WWE Evolution event will center on Naomi’s shocking main-event cash-in. After all, it was something that defied expectation. Logic had dictated that she would wait until Jade Cargill dethroned Tiffany Stratton at SummerSlam, then attack the vulnerable new WWE Women’s Champion to continue their rivalry.
Instead, Naomi used it on the Women’s World Championship – the “other title” whose erstwhile holder, Iyo Sky, had not had a significant storyline since WrestleMania. The swerve dramatically refreshed the title scenes ahead of “The Biggest Party of the Summer”, but that is not the point here.
There was another, more sensible route that WWE could have taken for Sky – one that involved a former partner of hers and Naomi’s: Asuka. Alas, she has seemingly become lost in the shuffle again, in more ways than one.
Late last month, WWE held its King and Queen of the Ring tournaments at Night of Champions. One of the finalists was Asuka, who was making her return from a knee injury that had sidelined her for over a year. Her opponent was none other than Cargill, who still had issues with Naomi.
The go-home episode of SmackDown telegraphed the outcome rather heavily: after a short brawl, Asuka stood tall. Cargill won the next day to secure the SummerSlam date with Stratton.
As for Asuka, she was eventually consigned to a tag title program with her old friend Kairi Sane. The two, however, failed to unseat Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez. Of course, that could have also gone differently, but more on that later.
So, what could have gone differently? Maybe either Asuka or Naomi would try attacking Cargill, only for her to evade and cause “friendly fire”, eventually standing tall. Then, in the match itself, Naomi could cause a distraction, allowing Asuka to win.
That would then lead to a tantalizing program with none other than Sky, should she have beaten Rhea Ripley. It would have been a tantalizing clash of joshi legends, each possessing a different style.
One is an old-school fighter who uses stiff strikes and submission holds to wear down opponents; the other is an aerial savant who likes to fly. The hype for the match would have been insane, especially given it would be the champion’s first defense since WrestleMania 41.
Maybe, Sky would win to cement herself as the joshi queen of WWE. Possibly, Asuka would win to regain her rightful throne. Perhaps, Sane would be involved in the outcome, given her history with both women.
One peculiar factoid about Asuka is that she has had the most partners with whom she has held the Women’s Tag Team Championships, at four. Of those partners, however, Sane is the one whom fans will most fondly remember. As the Kabuki Warriors, they carry a certain aura that no other partner for each of them can emulate.
After Night of Champions, the two reunited on Raw. They were entered into the Fatal Four-Way for the titles, but failed to unseat Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez. Of course, that could have also gone differently.
Had they won, they would have had a bevy of opponents to face: B-Fab and Michin, Natalya and Maxxine Dupri, and Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, to name a few. They could go down to NXT and defend against the likes of Fatal Influence and the duo of Sol Ruca and ZARIA.
They could even cross-promote and appear on TNA, which has a plethora of pairings, both active and hypothetical. If anyone thinks this is impossible because they are main-roster talent, one must remember that Joe Hendry competed at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania while World Champion. It can happen.
Squandering the returns of highly touted stars is not new in wrestling. Speaking of TNA, it recently wasted Killer Kelly’s return on a chain match that aired in the early-middle portion of an episode of Impact.
It is safe to say that such a match deserved better – it should have happened at this coming Sunday’s Slammiversary. Barring that, it could easily have been the episode’s main event, with Jacy Jayne confronting a victorious Masha Slamovich afterward.
Just like Kelly, Asuka deserved and still deserves better. This is, after all, a woman who has yet to win a WrestleMania match in six appearances. This current run of hers could have led to something great, but WWE squandered it yet again.
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